Selkirk Regeneration, a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO), commissioned Scene Connect Ltd (Scene) to assess the feasibility of ground-mount solar PV development on land held in Common Good on the edge of Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. The work followed on from an initial feasibility carried out in 2022, which considered multiple sites and scales of development around Selkirk and identified two preferred locations.
This project sought to look in further detail into one of these preferred locations, to assess feasibility. This included:
• Reviewing the baseline characteristics of the site and developing initial designs for solar photovoltaic (PV) generation to determine an appropriate scale of development relative to the site and modelling the generation output;
• Establishing legal agreement with the landowner over development rights;
• Assessing the planning and consenting requirements;
• Investigating the potential for direct supply (behind the meter) within nearby energy users, potential opportunities for other supply opportunities (such as for electric vehicle charging), and engaging with the Distribution Network Operator (DNO) over connection to the public electricity network;
• Reporting.
As the grid connection costs rendered the project non-viable, no work was progressed on a further task within scope, namely to model battery storage development scenarios and undertake financial modelling including sensitivity analysis and risk assessment.
The feasibility study was supported by the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES).